Dungeons & Dragons Online Module 3 Release Notes

Turbine’s official Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach website has been updated with the release notes for the game’s free Module 3: Demon Sands update scheduled for release later this week. The increase in level cap is a welcome addition, and these points of interest will definitely have me logging in on Wednesday night:

Zawabi’s Refuge – An oasis to the north of the Scavenger Wastes. Named after the djinni who rules the oasis, Zawabi’s Refuge is a bastion against gnoll and scorrow raiders that prey on lost travelers and ill-protected caravans. Many refugees come to the Refuge seeking the djinni’s protection, as do adventurers, traders, outcasts and other questionable characters from far-off lands. Zawabi is bound to the oasis by a powerful spell and cannot leave his circle, but within the Refuge, his power is supreme.

The Scavenger Wastes – Hyena packs roam these lands, as do their bipedal cousins, the gnolls. The magically-guarded entrance to Zawabi’s Refuge is located here.

Windlasher Canyon – The harsh desert winds of the Menechtarun carved out this canyon long ago. Now it serves as home for the Windlasher tribe of gnolls, who are marginally less aggressive than the Firebrands but no less deadly in combat.

Valley of the False Tombs – This valley is rumored to be the final resting place of Raiyum the Wizard-King and his malefic servants, Kourush and Rahmat. Raiyum’s tomb is supposedly rife with traps and decoy tombs, serving to conceal the true burial chamber of the legendary tyrant.

Burning Mountain – The Burning Mountain dominates the territory of the Firebrand gnolls. Few explorers manage to evade the patrols along its dangerous ledges and twisting trails, and even fewer sneak past its guarded gates. These lucky survivors report the existence of a massive fortress-like city within the mountain’s volcanic interior, where countless slaves toil without hope of release.

Serpent’s Pass – Deep in Firebrand territory lies the valley known as Serpent’s Pass. The origins of this name are unclear; the Pass may have been named for its serpentine bends, or for its many opportunities for treachery and ambush. The Firebrand gnolls often use this place as a staging area for their raids against the Vulkoorim. Others who enter Serpent’s Pass rarely leave alive.

The Scar – A deep fissure in the desert that stretches for miles, the Scar is a natural bulwark separating the gnoll tribes from the Vulkoorim scorrow and their drow worshippers. Several treacherous paths and a pair of stone bridges are the only ways to cross the Scar, and the scorrow keep a close watch on these points of entry. Unwary travelers who venture across the Scar often end up as unwilling guests in the bloody rituals of the Vulkoor Spiral.

The Vulkoor Spiral – A holy shrine for the Vulkoorim and their worshippers, the Vulkoor Spiral is an underground network of caverns that echoes with the screams of the slain. Here, the Vulkoorim offer fervent prayers and bloody sacrifices to all three aspects of the scorpion god Vulkoor, although Vulkoor the Wrathful is the form most revered by this dark and violent cult.